Trump’s tax reform is working

It’s the beginning of a new year, and the U.S. has a new tax code. Like the New Year, President Trump’s tax cuts are giving many people reasons to celebrate and be optimistic about the future.

The naysayers were pessimistic and promised ‘Armageddon,' but as I write this less than a month after President Trump signed the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, over 2,000,000 workers and counting have received $1.5 billion in significant bonuses and raises, and companies have already planned $1.6 billion of new investments in the United States. And if you think that’s exciting, just wait until next month.

Beginning in February, 90 percent of American workers will see larger paychecks when employers use the updated withholding tables from the IRS. The median family of four in my district will see a $2,106 tax cut. This is real relief that will have a real impact on our local economy. For many of my constituents this means being able to invest in their family’s education and future, take the family on a dream vacation, buy an extra gift for a loved one, and boost the American economy while doing it.

Take this example reported by the Wilkes-Barre Times Leader when Navient Corporation gave $1,000 bonuses to 6,700 employees, many of whom are here in Pennsylvania:

Colleen Hughes, an instructional design specialist — she works behind the scenes in the training department — said co-workers “cheered and hollered” when they read their emails.

“And it came right before the holidays,” said Hughes, 33, of Dupont. “I literally started to cry. I was shocked. I have a 3-year-old and I overspent for the holidays. This really helped me out.”

As news of the $1,000 bonuses made its way through Navient, Hughes said people became emotional.

I flew with President Trump to H&K Equipment, just outside Pittsburgh on Thursday to see first hand the new optimism of manufacturers and job creators, but we see it all over the country. The National Association of Manufacturers reports manufacturers’ optimism about the future of their companies is at a 20-year high and new orders have increased at the fastest rate since 2004.

That’s because the old tax code was punishing companies for doing business in America. As a result of having the highest business tax in the industrial world, America was on an uneven playing field with our competitors. Record numbers of companies were leaving the United States for tax purposes and taking their income, investments, and employment opportunities with them. An uncompetitive tax rate affects all states, but it especially hits Pennsylvania hard where we have the highest effective corporate net income tax rate in the nation.

I suspect you knew that already, and I suspect that’s why Pennsylvania voted for a Republican presidential candidate for the first time in almost 30 years. Fortunately the candidate with a business background won and America is on the right track toward a golden age of manufacturing and employment.

In Franklin County in my district, which now has a record high number of jobs and the lowest unemployment rate seen since 2008, the president of the Franklin County Area Development Corporation, Michael Ross, said, “If (tax reform) passes, an infrastructure bill has to be the next major piece of legislation. We don’t have the infrastructure to support the growth that will occur.”

That’s a good problem to have, and one that the president and I are eager to solve. As I finish out my career in Congress, my number one priority is working with President Trump to deliver a robust infrastructure package to repair and rebuild our crumbling infrastructure to support the massive growth America is about to see.

Note from the author: Before I could finish writing this column, the American company Apple Inc. announced it would be committing $350 billion to the U.S. economy, building a new corporate campus, and hiring 20,000 more workers as a result of tax reform. The tax reform results are coming in too fast to keep up with.

U.S. Rep. Bill Shuster represents the 9th Congressional District of Pennsylvania and is Chairman of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee.